Forever
by Jedi Goat
Summary: Missing moment from book one. Tobias's POV as he overstays his limit in red tailed hawk morph. Bit of RT.


**Forever**

Jedi Goat

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs.

(Thought-speak)

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My name is Tobias.

The battle raged below. Four creatures writhed in a sea of Hork-Bajir, humans and Taxxons. Fighting their way to the exit with the free humans. One angry Andalite controller watched, ordering his cronies around and yelling at them as slowly, my four animal friends neared the escape.

Jake, our leader, in tiger morph cleared the way. His tremendously loud roar made the controllers' ranks buckle in fear.

Then came Marco, swinging his massive gorilla fists and punching the lights out of any enemy that dared approach.

Trumpeting and stomping, Rachel was the largest of us, in elephant form. Her huge bulk was enough to give those controllers second thoughts.

Cassie the horse galloped through the mess with two of the freed humans on her back.

But I reigned over the battle, seeing more than even Visser Three with his four Andalite eyes.

I was a red-tailed hawk, circling above the fray. My sharp eyes caught the flicker of the Yeerks in the pool splashing around. I could see every flash of the Hork-Bajir army's deadly blades and my friends' every movements.

I was focused on the battle, a guide for the Animorphs.

(Marco! Behind you!) I warned, as a Hork-Bajir controller got behind him. Marco struck backward without even looking. His fist plowed into the Hork-Bajir's stomach and the controller went down. Hard.

(Cassie, dracon bea-) Before I could finish, I saw a flash of the dracon beam and one of the humans slid to the ground. I winced.

(C'mon, guys, LET'S GO!) Jake yelled.

As they rushed for the exit stairs, I spotted something. (Visser Three's morphing!)

Jake turned, amber eyes narrowing. (Go! I'll deal with him!)

His liquid muscles coiled and he launched himself at Visser Three. He flew out like a rocket, claws glinting.

One of the Visser's shifting heads twisted around to face him. Jaws opened even as the teeth inside were still forming.

FWOOSH!

(AAAHHH!) Jake screamed in pain as a fireball grazed his side. He dropped to the ground, turned and darted out of the way of the next blast.

(That's it. BAIL!)

Marco was already on the steps, gesturing the others forward. Rachel was demorphing slightly to fit through the opening. Cassie ran full-out up the stairs.

Inwardly I cringed, hoping she wouldn't trip. The Visser's monstrous morph scrambled after my friends. (Come back, Andalite bandits! Don't you want to have fun?) His cold, mocking voice echoed in my head.

"TSSEER!" I hugged my wings to my sides, diving straight down toward one of the Visser's many faces. The wind rushed over my feathers as I cried giddily inside my head with exhilaration. It was madness, the steepest, fastest roller coaster on Earth!

I caught every detail of my target as I rocketed down. Closer, closer… the scales on the Visser's head looked like stones, each one perfectly defined in the hawk's vision. The Visser turned, eyes widening, in slow motion. Jaws opened, teeth glistened, ready to receive me.

But I blew over them, flaring my wings at the last moment and raking my talons forward.

The Visser roared in anger. Heat shot past, the fireball just missing my tail feathers. I'd have really been a red-tail if it had hit!

I flapped madly, twisting in the air to get away from Visser Three. I caught sight of Jake's striped tail, disappearing up the stairs. The others had already left.

It was just me.

Alone.

Bail! I screamed to myself, eyes on the exit. But in my heart I knew it was already blocked. Hork-Bajir swarmed around all of the surrounding staircases. They bounded up the stairs where my friends had disappeared. No way out.

I banked, circled over the pool. The fire-spitting Visser was left behind. My eyes scored the cavern, searching for some possible safe place.

There!

I spilled the air from my wings, plunging toward a crack in the wall. Was it big enough? I hoped so.

I killed my speed, flapping inside. There was only a small, dark space, ensconcing me inside. I couldn't see!

My wings grazed the walls of the small cave; I felt my talons connect with rock. I closed my wings and scrambled around, facing back out onto the Yeerk Pool.

Had anyone seen me? I didn't think so. The Visser stomped around grumpily below in his fearsome morph, snapping fireballs at any controller who ticked him off. The entrances were blocked off. I'd have to wait.

I crouched as if I was perched on a branch, eyes on a juicy mouse of rabbit wandering below. Waiting, watching for the right moment.

I shook my head to clear the hawk's instincts. No. I was human. Waiting…

Fear suddenly clutched at my belly. How long had I been in morph, during battle, waiting before? If the way didn't clear soon I'd pass the two-hour limit!

A strange sense of satisfaction settled in. It was what I'd wanted, wasn't it? To escape from life, from school bullies?

A memory flashed in my mind: school, a day before the fateful night we discovered Elfangor, the dying Andalite prince.

"Well, if it isn't little Toby," sneered a burly boy.

"Leave me alone," I mumbled to the ground, trying to walk around him into the bathroom. The bully smirked, barring my path. "I don't think so."

Another guy appeared behind him. "Let's flush his head in the toilet!"

Fear flashed in my eyes, and the first boy jeered. "Is wittle Toby fwitened?"

Laughing, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me into the bathroom. Stars exploded in front of my eyes with the pain.

"Let me go!" I gasped as he barged into a stall and forced my head down. "No! Let me-"

Bubbles emerged from my mouth as they pushed my face underwater.

FWOOSH!

Water swirled around me, current tugging at my hair. Couldn't - breathe -

As the water level went down I took a deep gasp of air and screamed. Laughter echoes in my ringing ears. Taking another breath, I held it as water rushed back up.

I jerked up. I was back in hawk form, sitting above the Yeerk pool. Blinking, I shook my head to rid myself of the memory.

But another one had surfaced in my mind…

"Hey! Tobias!"

I flinched. Slowly, I turned to meet my uncle's angry red stare.

He brandished a paper at me. "You're barely passing in school! What's wrong with you!?"

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I've been having trouble lately and people keep stealing my note-"

"Having trouble?!" my uncle roared, "I'll show you trouble, boy!"

I shook my head, shaking away the memories. Life's not always that bad, I reasoned with myself. But I knew it not to be true.

Did I really want to be a hawk? I didn't really have a choice. Fate had put me in this position.

Life as a hawk could be better. No bullies, no school.

But then a vision appeared in my mind, of the five of us Animorphs gathered in the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, Cassie's barn. Lounged about on bales of hay, just talking or doing homework. Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Marco, me. Five unlucky kids, chosen to defend the world. Or was it…four kids and a hawk?

A loner. An outsider. That's who I am. No one would care if I suddenly disappeared, became a hawk.

But a voice somewhere deep down whispered, not no one. One person would care.

Rachel.

I could see her now, beautiful but sad blue eyes on me. My heart beat slightly faster. Maybe I was just imagining it; hoping, wishing that she would like me in that way. Either way, thinking of Rachel gave me strength.

I peered outside. The Yeerks were still there, beginning to thin out, slipping away to other duties.

Not allowing time for second thoughts, I spread my wings and flung myself from the safety of the shallow crevice. I shot for the exit, eyes trained on the opening of the burned-out stairwell.

I was inside!

I flared my wings, scraping against the walls. Flapping hard now to keep my speed, I urged myself to go faster. I heard shocked exclamations below but ignored them.

FZOOM!

I blew out into the dark corridors of the school. I zoomed around a corner, past lockers of my friends and fellow Animorphs.

And finally, I was outside. I banked and fluttered down onto the branch of a tree. My heart was pounding wildly with excitement.

I glanced up at the clock, high on the tower of the school. I froze, everything else forgotten. Only the hands moved on the clock, framing time in seconds. Minutes.

Tick tock.

My two hours were long up.

Something unclenched inside of me. I almost felt relieved to know I was a red-tailed hawk.

The thoughts of what I'd left behind didn't come rushing back. There was only cold, hard acceptance as I flew off to find Jake.

I was fighting a war. Sacrifices had to be made.

I was a red-tailed hawk.

Forever.

The End

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End file.
